1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to protective coverings for personal digital/data assistants (PDAs), cellular telephones, and similar portable and/or hand-held electronic devices. More specifically, the invention relates to protective coverings for PDAs that are capable of also carrying other items as well as the PDA.
2. Description of Related Art
In many countries, the majority of the population carries at least one hand-held or otherwise portable electronic device, such as a cell phone, a PDA (e.g., a Blackberry®, made by Research in Motion, Ltd., of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, and/or an iPhone®, made by Apple, Inc., of Cupertino, Calif.), or similar device which carries both their personal and business data (hereinafter collectively and generically “PDAs” or “personal electronic devices”). There has been a trend towards combining several functions of different types within the same device so as to minimize pocket or purse clutter and to make the products more integrated, useful and convenient. There has also been a trend to shrink the size of PDAs to make them as portable as possible, preferably pocket-sized (meaning, able to fit within the average person's pants pocket comfortably).
However, if one is out and about with one's cell phone or PDA, one still must carry a wallet for one's cash, credit cards, train passes, identification cards or badges, and the like. The greater the number of such items a person carries around, the greater the likelihood that she will either forget one or more of the items at home, and the greater the likelihood that she will misplace one in a restaurant, bar, office, etc. Even were one not to lose or misplace anything, fumbling around looking for a wallet while holding a PDA or vice versa wastes time, is uncomfortable for the user, and reduces the “cool” factor of having a cutting edge PDA. There is a long-felt need to somehow make carrying a PDA even more convenient and efficient.
A number of different types of protective coverings are available for PDAs. For example, see: US Patent Application No. 2007/0223183 to Oja; US Patent Application No. 2007/0215663 to Chongson et al.; US Patent Application No. 2002/0101411 to Chang; U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,892,880 to Nieves; 6,758,335 to Kajiya; 6,483,697 to Jenks et al.; 6,445,577 to Madsen et al.; 6,347,796 to Grossman et al.; 6,239,968 to Kim et al.; 5,348,347 to Shink; or 5,006,699 to Felkner et al. These conventional coverings tend to fall into four general categories: a soft covering or “skin” that hugs the contour of the PDA, made from a resilient material such as silicone rubber; hard shell cases made from plastic or metal; flip/folio-style coverings that provide an openable and closeable front cover over the PDA; and camera-case style bags that are usually soft, pliable, cushioned, and significantly larger than the PDA itself.
Each of these categories has its drawbacks. The first category, the “skin” covering is quite popular, however it serves only to cover the device; it cannot hold anything else.
The second category, hard clamshell-style cases, includes the abovementioned Chang US patent application and the abovementioned Kajiya, Madsen, Jenks, and Kim et al. US patents. While these cases may protect the PDA inside, they must be fully opened in order to use the PDA. Also, these cases are not designed to hold anything but the PDA itself.
The third category is flip/folio-style cases; this category includes the abovementioned Oja US patent application and the abovementioned Nieves, Grossman, Shink, and Felkner US patents. As with the clamshell cases, a cover flips open and closed over the PDA, usually with a securing mechanism such as a snap, a magnet, or hook and loop fasteners (e.g., Velcro®). In order to use the PDA, the cover must be opened, thereby exposing the front of the device. This is inconvenient. Additionally, the presence of a flip-openable cover adds such a significant amount of bulk to the otherwise pocket-sized PDA so as to render it less convenient to carry. As an example, the Shink patent teaches a diaper-bag-like roll that has not one fold-over flap of a cover but four fold-over panels. Also, the majority of this style of case can only hold the PDA itself, although some such as Felkner, Nieves, and Shink may have an internal pocket. By providing a pocket internal to the case, the case must be opened in order to access the pocket. This is inconvenient, and risks injury to the PDA for the sake of accessing the pocket.
Finally, the fourth category of camera-bag-style coverings includes the above-mentioned Chongson et al. US patent application. This style likely offers the most protection (depending on the amount of cushioning provided), however it is potentially the most dangerous and the least convenient. For one, not only cannot the user use the PDA when the bag is closed, the PDA must be wholly removed from the safety of the bag in order to be used. Thus, in order to use the PDA, the user must render the PDA complete susceptible to catastrophic damage (e.g., by dropping it). Moreover, the bagstyle covering is so large as to render the PDA no longer so small to be convenient; for example, in Chongson, the bag is so large, the user must wear the bag with the PDA inside. It is no longer pocket-sized, and thus unacceptable for many users; one may as well carry a backpack or a suitcase.
Thus, there is a long-felt need to provide a PDA cover that protects the device, and makes the device more convenient and efficient, while keeping true to the pocket-sized portable and personal nature of a PDA.